Shuttle and heddle drive mechanism for



L I I I I I I l I I I I l l I I I I I 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 W. H. EWING APROGRESSIVE SHEDDING LOOM INV EN TOR.

gi/L @uw March 10, 1964 SHUTTLE AND HEDDLE DRIVE MECHANISM FOR FiledDec. so, 1960 March 10, 1964 w. H. EWING 3,124,164

SHUTTLE AND HEDDLE DRIVE MECHANISM FOR A PROGRESSIVE SHEDDING LooM 5Sheecs-Sheefl 2 Filed Dec. 30, 1960 wmp rumanos@ INVENTOR. W. H. EWINGBY M Y QMWJM A Troie/Veys March 10, 1964 w. H. EwlNG SHU'TTLE AND HEDDLEDRIVE MECHANISM FOR A PROGRESSIVE SHEDDING LOOM 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 FiledDeC. 30, 1960 INVENToR. w. H EwlNG A 7 Top/v5 ys March .10, 1964 w. H.EWING 3,124,164

SHUTTLE AND EEDDLE DRIVE MEcRANIsM FoR A PROGRESSIVE SHEDDING LooM FiledDeo. .'50, 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. Fig. 11. w. H. EwlNG CLM Afrom/frs March l0, 1964 w. H. EWING 3,124,164

SHUTTLE AND EEDDLE DRIVE MECHANISM FOR A PROGRESSIVE SHEDDING LooM FiledDec. 30, 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent O This inventionrelates to shuttle and heddle drive mechanism for a loom operatingaccording to a principle Y of progressive shedding.

Looms using the progressive shedding principle employ a plurality ofshuttles moving across warp threads at any given instant, with varioustypes of nger mechanisms used to actuate the shuttles. By using aplurality of shuttles, rather than a single one moving across the warp,the same or a higher production rate can be obtained with slower shuttlemovement. By maintaining a constant distance between the shuttles,regardless of the width of the fabric being woven, wider fabrics can beWoven as rapidly as narrow ones because more shuttles will be movedacross the wider fabric in a given period. Thus, a fabric which is twiceas wide as another can have twice as many shuttles moving thereacross sothat weaving will proceed at the same lineal rate /with the shuttlesmoving at the same speed. By achieving a higher production rate, lessfloor space is required and less labor is needed per unit of production.In addition, by using a slower shuttle speed, less yvibration and noiseresult and there is less danger of flying, uncontrolled shuttles.Because of the fact that several shuttles are always moving across Y theloom at any given time, there is no lost time at the end of each trip ofthe shuttle across the warp while its motion is being reversed for areturn trip. Another advantage of provessive shedding looms is that eachdill thread thereof can be beat up sequentially rather than all at once,so that less force is needed per unit of length of the fill threads andthe threads are less likely to be damaged.

The present invention provides shuttle and heddle drive mechanism for ahigh production loom of the progressive i shedding type which has theadvantages outlined above as well as many others. The loom embodying theinvention employs a plurality of improved shuttles having surfaces whichare angularly disposed with respect to the direction of the warp threadsand reeds which operate' with an undulatory or wave-like motion andstrike the angular surfaces of the shuttles, causing them to moveicrwardly across the warp. The reeds zand shuttles are designed so thatseveral of the reeds engage the shuttle at any given instant, thusspreading the force needed to move each shuttle over several reeds.Besides advancing the shuttles, the reeds also move beyond them to beatup the newly laid Woof or lill threads deposited by the shuttles,thereby combining two operations into one. The reeds are operated by aplurality of cams assembled in predetermined relationship into a camroll which is of generally helical configuration in order to drive thereeds with the desired motion. The reeds are wedged against the camassembly by an improved spring arrangement. The heddles of the loom arealso operated by a cam roll which is constructed similarly to the reedcam roll and which engages lever arms to which the heddles are connectedto move the warp threads across the path of the shuttles to positionsspaced therefrom. The heddles are also urged against the heddle cam rollby an improved, compact spring arrangement.

The heddle and reed operating mechanisms are simple to operate and tomanufacture, the parts being of simple shape and similar configuration.Thus, all of the reeds Vin the art.

Y 3,124,164 Patented Mar. i0, 1964 yare of the same shape as are theseparate reed cams which make up the reed cam roll. The heddles, heddlelever arms, and heddle cams which make up the heddle cam roll are alsoalike. v

The operating movements of the reeds, heddles, and their drivingmechanisms are also relatively simple, involving only rotary motions ofthe cam 4rolls and reciprocatory movements of the reeds and the heddles.'Ihe shuttles move more slowly and more smoothly across the loom with noabrupt stops or abrupt changes in direction and the cam rolls move withcircular motions, resulting in very little jarring or vibration.Although the reeds andthe heddle lever arms reciprocate, they do sosmoothly by gradually reducing speed before changing direction whichkeeps jarring and vibration at a low level. Very little noise isproduced by the loom, perhaps the loudest noise being the contact of thereeds with the angular surfaces of the shuttles.

It is, therefore, `a principal object of the invention to provideshuttle and heddle drive mechanism for a high production loom of theprogressive shedding type having the advantages outlined above.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparentfrom the following detailed description of preferred embodimentsthereof, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational View of a loom embodying the principles ofthe invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary, front elevational view of reeds anda reed cam roll used in the loom of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the reeds and reed cam roll sho-wnin FIG. 2 and of a spring associated with the reeds;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary, side elevational view of a heddle, a heddlelever arm, a heddle cam roll, and a spring used with the loom of FIG. l;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational View of a modified heddle and heddleoperating mechanism;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational View of a further modified heddle operatingmechanism;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged plan view of a shuttle used in the loom of FIG. l;

FIG. 8 is an end elevational view of the shuttle shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view in perspective of a modified shuttle;

FIG. 10 is a View in lateral vertical cross section of the shuttle shownin FIG. 9 and of an air nozzle inserted thereinto;

FIG. ll is a view in lateral, vertical cross section of a furthermodified shuttle;

FIG. l2 is a somewhat schematic view in perspective of apparatus forwinding a bobbin; and

FIG. 13 is a view of a bobbin and of a blower in cross section forstripping fill thread from the bobbin.

Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. l, a loommechanism l0 embodying the present invention includes a main frame l2carrying a lower Weaving section indicated at 14 and an upper weavingsection indicated at 16. The loom mechanism lll also includes supplies13 and 29 of warp threads and take-up spools 22 and 24 which are mountedon an auxiliary frame 26. In this instance, two separate fabrics 28 and30, which are woven on the lower and upper weaving sections 14 and 16,respectively, are wound onto the spools 22 and 24. Any suitable sourceof supply can be used for the warp threads, such as a beam or creel, asis well known While the take-up spools can be driven directly as thesole source of drive for the fabrics, as shown, the fabrics are drivenby pairs 32 and 34 of drive rollers which are located between thetake-up spools 22 and 24 and the weaving sections 14 and 16. It will bereadily understood by those skilled in the art that the lower and upperfabrics 23 and 3d can be woven so as to constitute but a single fabricwhen opened up along one edge, particularly when coarser fabrics arewoven. In such an instance, only one take-up spool would be employed forthe single, double width fabric.

Referring in more detail to the lower weaving section 14, the Warpthreads are carried to an intermediate point in the frame l2 where theyare woven with fill or Woof threads which are carried by shuttles 36preferably in the form shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. Each of the shuttles 36,which can be of sheet metal, has forward and trailing edge portions orangular drivesurfaces 38 and 4t) which are symmetrical so that they canbe driven in either direction when either of the angular surfaces 33 and4@ are engaged by reeds, as will be discussed subsequently. Each of theedges 38 and 4t) has a generally slanted elongated S shape with endportions which are disposed at steeper angles than the intermediateportion thereof, for a purpose which will be subsequently discussed. Arear, tapered edge portion 42 of the shuttle 36 has a slot 44 thereinthrough which a fill thread is threaded from a bobbin 46. The bobbin isrotatably mounted in the shuttle 36 by means of spring clips 4S Whichenable the bobbin 46 to be inserted in the shuttle 36 through an upperor lower opening 5d and removed from the opposite opening. Thisfacilitates the loading and unloading of the shuttle 36 because a fullbobbin can be inserted into the shuttle through one of the openings 50and at the same time push out the empty bobbin through the oppositeopening. A pair of pins 52 can be located in alignment with the slot 44to squeeze the fill thread slightly and to place it under propertension.

As shown more fully in a co-pending application of Slayter and Ewing,Serial No. 79,894, filed on December 30, 1960, and in a co-pendingapplication of Slayter, Serial No. 76,340, filed on December l6, 1960, anumber of the shuttles 36 are moved across the warp threads at any giveninstant, after which they are transferred from one of the fabrics to theother, at which time they need not be turned around because of thesymmetrical configuration of the forward and trailing edges 38 and 40which then become trailing and forward edges, respectively. While thespacing between the shuttles will depend primarily upon the size of theshuttles and the width of the fabric, in a preferred form, the shuttlesare approximately 4 inches long and are spaced at 6 inch intervals. Whenmoving across the warp threads each of the shuttles is adapted to rideon the portion of the warp threads which form the lower portion of theshed. Each of the shuttle surfaces 38 and 4t) is disposed so that itlies at an angle relative to the warp threads and the reed face. Eachshuttle slot 44 is adapted to lie in the fell of the fabric and parallelto the plane of the formed fabric.

The shuttles are moved across the warp threads by a. plurality ofseparate and separately operated reeds 54 (FIGS. 1 3) which have upper,thin tips 56 between which Warp threads are passed. The reeds 54 aremoved in an undulatory or Wave-like motion, as more particularly shownin the above mentioned co-pending applications, to cause the tips 56 tostrike the angular surfaces 38 and 4) with successive contacts and topropel the shuttles 36 across the loom continuously and in spacedrelationship. The reeds 54 are mounted in a row on a reed shaft 58 (FIG.3) which is supported on the frame 12 by ears 60 (FIG. l). The shaft SShas a flattened portion 62 extending substantially over all of itslength except for the end portions mounted in the ears 66. The shaft Sis positioned after the reeds 54 are pivotally mounted thereon so thatthe reeds contact the rounded portion of the periphery of the shaft 58.Cooperating with the flattened portion 62 of the shaft 53 are slots 645in each of the reeds 54, which slots extend from holes 66 for the shaft58 to the outer, lower edges of the reeds 54. The Width of the slots 64is greater than the minimum width of the shaft S8 measured in a lineperpendicular to the flattened portion so that any one of the reeds 54can be removed laterally from the shaft 525 without disturbing theadjacent reeds, simply by turning the shaft degrees and pulling the`desired reed up and off of it. This is particularly advantageous shouldone of the reeds 54 become damaged because it can then be replacedWithout the necessity of removing all of the reeds and the shaft fromthe loom.

The reeds 54 are preferably made of a light-weight material in order toreduce the overall weight of the loom l@ and also to minimize themomentum of the reeds during their reciprocatory motions. While manymaterials can be used for the reeds 54, a straight grained hard woodsuch as maple has been found to be suitable. Various plastic materialscan be used as well as laminations of plastic materials and glass fibercloth or similar glass fiber reinforcement. If desired, a steel insert68 can be used at an intermediate portion of the reed 54 to reduce wearthereon.

The undulatory motion of the row of the reeds S4 and the reciprocatorymotion of the individual reeds is established by a reed cam roll 70. Thereed cam roll 70 includes a plurality of individual cams 72, one foreach of the reeds 54, all of which cams are identical and are arrangedin a predetermined fixed position, one slightly offset with respect toadjacent ones, so that the desired undulatory motion is established forthe row of the reeds 54 when the cam roll 'Til is rotated. The shape ofthe cam roll 70 and the individual cams 72 in FIGS. 2 and 3 is shownonly for purposes of illustration and is not intended to represent theexact shape of the roll or cams.

For assembling and positioning the individual cams, each of the cams 72has a large centrally located hole 74 therein through which an assemblyshaft 76 is passed. A pair of hubs 78 is mounted on the ends of theshaft 76 by suitable set screws d, with the hubs 7S mounted in fixedpositions by a key 82 which extends into keyways 84 and 86 in the shaft76 and the hub 78, respectively. Both ends of the shaft 76 have similarkeys and keyways so that the hubs will be positively aligned when theyare fixed on the shaft 76. This assures that positioning holes 88 in thehubs 78, which holes are spaced from the assembly shaft 76 and areuniformly circumferentially spaced around the hubs 78, will ybe inalignment when the hubs 7d are assembled on the shaft 76. The individualcams 54 have similar positioning holes 90 which are spaced a distance`from the assembly shaft 76 equal to the spacing of the positioningholes 88 therefrom and are also spaced uniformly circumferentiallyaround the cams 72. However, the positioning holes 96 of the individualcams '7 2 are circumferentially spaced from the corresponding holes inthe adjacent cams 72 when the cams are in alignment. With thisarrangement, when the positioning hole 9i) of adjacent cams, are alignedby positioning rods 92, the adjacent cams in which the holes are locatedwill be out of alignment or circumferentially spaced by a predeterminednumber of degrees. This assures that the adjacent cams will be uniformlycircumferentially spaced in such a manner that a desired contour isestablished for the overall cam roll 70 and that the desired motion willbe obtained for the row of the reeds 54. By way of example, in a loomhaving four ends per inch with one reed for each end and with theshuttles spaced apart six inches, the four positioning holes 90 in eachof the cams 72 will be circumferentially spaced from the adjacent onesby an angle of 71/2 degrees so that the adjacent cams will becircumferentially spaced by 71/2 degrees when the cam roll 74? islassmbled. For liner count fabrics with more reeds and with thinnercams, the angle would have to be decreased, of course. The alignedpositions of the hubs 78 on the shaft 76 assures that the positioningrods- 92 cannot be canted with respect to the axis `of rotationof thecam roll 7tl and thereby throw the motion of the reeds 5d out ofposition.

The individual reeds 54 move more slowly near the ends of theirreciprocatory motions than at intermediate portions. To compensate forthis, the forward and trailing surfaces 3S and ttl have an elongated Sshape so that the surfaces are steepest at those portions where thereeds 5d move the slowest. This establishes a more uniform motion forthe shuttles 3d and also enables more of the reeds 54 to be in contactwith the surfaces 3S and dit because the elongated S shape of thesurfaces conforms more closely with the overall undulatory shape of therow of the reeds 54.

The reeds 5dare urged against the cams 72 by means of cantilever springwires 94 (FlG. 3), there being one of the spring wires 9d for each ofthe reeds 5d, with the spring wire and the reed lying in a common plane.The lower end of the spring wire 9dhas a hook portion 96 extendingpartly around a lower supporting bar 93 which is mounted on the frame12. An intermediate portion` of the spring Wire 9d, between the hookportion 96 and an upper tip portion 11th, which is engaged with a rearedge of the reed 54, is engaged and urged toward the reed 54 by an upperpositioning bar 1192 which is also mounted on the frame 12. The bars 9Sand 1M thus position the spring Wires 94 parallel to the reeds 5d and toeach other, and maintain the tip portion 1b@ against the reed 54,thereby urging each reed against its cam 72. The bars it and 192preferably have lateral grooves therein which maintain the spring wiresgd in their vertical positions. lt will be readily appreciated that anyone of the spring wires 9d can be removed from the loom 1@ withoutdisturbing the adjacent ones and also that the spring wires can becompacted laterally in the loom in a minimum of space. The spring wires94- are all alike and are also easy to manufacture.

The warp threads are operated with a sequential lateral motion as theshuttles 36 are moved thereacross by means of heddles 1154 (FIG. 4)which have eyes 1% through which the warp threads pass. At theiropposite ends, the heddles have pivotal connections ltt and atintermediate portions, the heddles are encompassed by a guide bar 11i)which extends the width of the fabric and is supported by the frame 12.The pivotal connections 108 of the heddles 1124 are pivotally attachedto heddle lever arms 112 by means of pins 11d or similar devices. Theheddle arms 112 are mounted in a row somewhat similarly to the reeds 5dby means of hubs 116 which are pivotally supported on a heddle lever armshaft 113. At an intermediate portion of the heddle 112 is a bifurcatedprojection 12@ having a bridging pin 122 extending across the gapbetween the bifurcated parts. ln contact with the pin 122 is a heddiespring wire 12d having a hook portion 126 at one end partiallysurrounding a guide bar 128 which preferably has lateral groovestherearound to aid in aligning the spring wire 124 with the heddle 112and for maintaining the adjacent spring Wires in parallel relationship.An opposite end 13@ of the spring wire 124 is urged upwardly against abearing bar 132 which is supported by the frame 12 along with the guideblock 11h. lt may be noted that the pin 122 is above a line between thesupporting rod 1253 and the bearing bar 132 so that the spring wire 12@ris maintained in a slight arc so as to urge the pin 122 and the leverarm 112 downwardly. This arc is maintained in the spring wire 12d forany position of lever arm 112 and, since the arc will vary in radius,the end 13b of the wire 124 must be free to move longitudinally. Thelever arms 112 are held against a heddle cam roll 134i constituting aplurality of individual cams which are assembled in the same manner asthe cams 72 of the reed cam roli 7h. The relationship of the adjacent,individual heddle cams, however, will vary according to the particularweave desired; for example, in a one-over, one-under weave, the adjacentheddle cams will be placed in opposite positions, 180 degrees out ofphase.

While there will be one heddle for each reed in many instances, theremay also be fewer heddles with two reeds between adjacent warp threads,or there may be more heddles than there are reeds with more than oneWarp thread between adjacent reeds, particularly where the ends of thereeds are slotted as set forth more fully in the aforementioned Slayterapplication.

The lower and upper weaving sections 14 and 16 of the loom mechanism 1dare substantially identical, each containing the reeds 54, the reed camrolls 7l), the heddles 1M, and the heddle cam rolls 134. The reed camroll 70 and the heddle cam roll 134 for each of the Weaving sections ldand 16 are driven by a motor and variable speed drive 136 throughsuitable chain and sprocket connections indicated at 13S. Any suitabledrive can be employed as long as a proper coordination is maintainedbetween the drive for the reed cam roll 7@ and the heddle cam roll 134to provide synchronization between these cam rolls and between the reeds54 and the heddles 104.

While the operation of the loom mechanism 1d will be evident from theabove discussion, a brief description of the operation will be setforth. Accordingly, the shuttles 36 are moved at a constant speed andwith constant spacing across each of the sets of warp threads for thelower and upper weaving sections 14 and 16 by the reeds 543 which areoperated with an undulatory motion by rotation of the cam roll 70through the motor 136 and the connections 1%. When the shuttles reachthe end of one of the fabrics, they are transferred to the other fabric,and traverse it in the opposite direction. What was formerly thetrailing edge of the shuttle 36 then becomes the leading edge, and viceversa, with the ll thread sliding to the opposite end of the slot ifi asthe motion is reversed. While the shuttles are moving across the warp,the heddles 1M control the positions of the warp threads through theheddle arms 112 and the heddle cam roll 134. For a one-over, one-underweave, the heddles move the warp threads across the path of the shuttlesuntil one of the shuttles has passed, after which they move the warpthreads across the path of the next shuttle and maintain it to one sideor" this shuttle until it has passed. For weaves other than a one-by-oneWeave, the heddles may maintain the warp threads to one side of theshuttle path until two or more shuttles have passed thereby.

A modified shuttle, particularly suitable for the loom mechanism Ml, isshown in FIGS. 9 and l0, This shuttle, indicated at 140, has forward andtrailing edges 142 and 14d which are symmetrical and similar inconguration to the edges 3h and 40 of the shuttle 36. In this instance,the body of the shuttle is completely enclosed with a cap 146 slippedover the large end thereof. A slot 148 is located in a rear edge 15h ofthe shuttle 140 in a manner similar to the slot i4 in the rear edge d2of the shuttle 35. instead of a conventional bobbin, however, a cop 152is used in the shuttle 141D, which cop is wound generally to the shapeof the interior of the shuttle 140 so that a maximum amount of fillthread or yarn can be packed therein. After the cop 152 is loaded, anair nozzle 154 is inserted through an opening 156 in the cap 146, afterwhich air is blown through the nozzle to separate the inner free end ofthe lill thread and blow it out the slot 143. Of course, after the copis used, there is no bobbin or spool within the shuttle which need bereplaced. Hence, this type of package and method of threading reduceloading and unloading time to a minimum. While the shuttle 14) has beenshown with the cap 146, in many instances, the cap may not be necessaryand the cop 152 can be simply wedged into the shuttle 140 and maintainedtherein by friction.

Another modified, simple shuttle 158 is shown in FIG. ll. This shuttleessentially is a light weight spool of plastic or the like and includeslower and upper sides 160 and 162 and a central, connecting hub 16d. Theannular edges of the lower and upper sides 160 and 162 are turned in toform annular ridges 166 and 168 which are spaced close together so as toengage the ll thread wound on the hub 164 as it is pulled from theshuttle 153, to place it under slight tension. The spool is forcedacross the warp threads by means of the reeds 5l?. which contact theedges of the shuttle 158 and push it forwardly in a manner similar tothat employed with the shuttle 36 and the shuttle 140. The shuttle 155can be loaded by removing one of the sides 16@ or 162 or it may bepossible to make the shuttles 158 at a sufficiently low cost to enablethem to be thrown away when empty.

A modified heddle drive assembly 170 is shown in FIG. 5. In thisinstance, a heddle 172 has an upper eye 174 for a warp thread, with thelower end of the heddle 172 being attached to or integral with a heddlestrip 176 which is guided by a rear plate 178 and a front bar 18d, withthe heddle strip 176 being in slidable contact with adjacent heddlestrips to prevent it from turning or twisting. A notch 132 is formed ina lower portion of the strip 176 into which notch is inserted a balljoint 184 of a heddle lever arm 1236 which is made of spring wire and ismounted at its opposite end in a fixed bar support 18S which can beattached to the loom frame 12. The support 185 positions the wire leverarm 186 downwardly against a heddle cam roll 19t) so that the lever arm186 always is urged against it. Thus, no auxiliary spring or resilientmeans are needed to maintain the lever arm in contact with the cam roll.The ball joint 134 enables the lever arm 136 to remain in engagementwith the heddle strip 176 whether it is in an upper or lower position.

Still another modified heddle drive 192 is shown in FIG. 6. In thisinstance, a heddle 194 has an eye 196 for a warp thread and the lowerend of the heddle 194 is attached to or made an integral part of aheddle strip 198. The heddle strip 193 is guided by a rear guide plate20h and a front guide bar 202 and is prevented from twisting or turningby being in slidable contact with adjacent heddle strips. A lowerportion of the heddle strip 193 has a plurality of teeth 2M forming agear rack, which teeth are engaged with other teeth 206 formed in an arcto constitute a segment of a pinion gear. The teeth 206 are formed on anend of a heddle lever arm 2618, the opposite end of which is pivotallymounted on a lever arm shaft 210, with the lever arm 203 being urgedagainst a heddle cam roll 212 by a suitable spring 214. The arrangementof the rack and pinion segment teeth 204 and 206 enable the lever arm2tlg to remain in engagement with the heddle strip 198 whether the strip198 is in an upper or a lower position.

For conventional fabrics, the reeds can beat the ll threads againstadjacent ll threads. However, for screening or other woven material inwhich the fill threads are spaced one from another, the end of theforward motion of the reeds 54 can be relied upon to properly positionthe till threads parallel one to another, or a positive stop can be usedto limit forward motion of the reeds, such a stop being shown at 216 inFIG. l. When the fabrics 28 and 36 are moved continuously, for anyweave, the reed cam roll 76 and the row of the reeds 54 are placed at aslight angle to the fabric so that the lill threads will be laidperpendicularly to the warp threads. The stops 216 will also be placedat a similar angle when used. By way of example, for a very coarse wovenmaterial having four ends per inch in a four-by-four weave, and with theshuttles spaced apart six inches when moving across the warp threads,the aforementioned loom components will be placed at an angle ofapproximately 2.5 to a line perpendicular to the warp threads.

While it is conventional in the art to employ various mechanical orelectrical feelers to determine when the lill thread wound on a bobbinused in a shuttle is almost gone, this technique requires ratherexpensive equipment and results in more waste thread than is usuallydesirable. To overcome these and other advantages inherent in such anoperation, the length of fill thread wound on each of the bobbins usedin the shuttles can be carefully o measured and then -a predeterminednumber of passes can be made with the shuttle carrying this bobbin,Thus, by way of example, for a three foot wide fabric, 24 feet of llthread can be wound on the bobbin and a shuttle carrying the bobbin canbe used to ymake eight passes over the three foot fabric. The thread canbe carefully measured so that only two or three inches of lill threadneed be wasted. Apparatus for accomplishing a measured wind is shown inFG. 12. Here a suitable bobbin is placed on a shaft of a motor 22d andsuitable fill thread 222 is wound on the bobbin 218 from a package 224.The fill thread 222 is first wound around a roll 226 several times andthen onto the bobbin 218. The roll 226 is of known diameter andcircumference so that by knowing the number of revolutions the roll 226makes, the length of thread passing therearound and onto the bobbin 218can be easily determined. The roll 226 is rotatably mounted on a housing22? which includes a counter for counting the number of revolutions madeby the roll. When the roll has made a predetermined number ofrevolutions, an electrical impulse is sent to a cutter 23d which thensevers the thread and stops the operation. A new bobbin is then placedon the shaft of the motor 22@ and the operation is repeated. The roll226 can be driven in synchronism with the bobbin 218 by a motor in thehousing 22S, if desired.

The little remaining thread on a bobbin after it is removed from theloom can be stripped with the apparatus shown in FIG. 13. In thisinstance, a fill thread 232 wound on `a bobbin 234 is that remainingafter the bobbin has been moved from the loom. The free end of thethread is then inserted through a cylindrical bore 236 located centrallyin a housing 238 of a blower designated 24h. The blower 240 alsoincludes an annular plenum chamber 2412 to which air or other com`ressible lluid is admitted through a supply line 244i, the air passingaround lthe manifold 242 and out an annular nozzle 246 locatedconcentrically with respect to the bore 236. The generally annularstream of air issuing from the nozzle 246 iinspirates additional airthrough the cylindrical bore 236 and quickly draws the thread 232therethrough, quickly stripping the bobbin 234. The bobbin can bestripped very quickly with just a few pounds of air pressure.

Various modifications of the above described embodiments of theinvention will be apparent to those skilled in the art and it is to beunderstood that such modifications can be made without departing fromthe spirit of the invention, if within the scope and tenor of theaccompanying claims.

I claim:

1. 1n mechanism for a loom of the progressive shedding type, a frame, ashaft mounted horizontally on said frarne, said shaft having a llattenedportion on its periphery extentn'ng longitudinally over a substantialportion of itslength, -a plurality of reeds, said reeds having holes forpivotally mounting said reeds on said shaft and slots in said reedsextending from said openings to outer edges thereof, the width of saidslots being greater than the minimum width of said shaft at saidflattened portion, whereby said reeds can ybe removed laterally fromsaid shaft without removal of the other reeds, a reed cam roll rotatablysupported on said frame in a position spaced from said shaft, said reedcam roll comprising a plurality of individual cams having a common,predetermined contour, each of said cams having a centrally locatedhole, an assembly shaft extending through said holes and beyond each endof said roll, a hub mounted on each end of said assembly shaft, each hubhaving a positioning hole spaced from said assembly shaft, said assemblyshaft having means on each end for positioning said hubs on saidassembly shaft with their positioning holes in alignnient, each of saidcams also having a positioning hole spaced from said assembly shaft adistance equal to the spacing of the positioning holes of said hubs fromsaid assembly shaft, the positioning holes of adjacent cams beingcircumlerentially positioned one from another at a predetermined angleso that each of said cams is out of alignment by the same angle withrespect to adjacent cams 'when ltheir positioning holes are aligned, apositioning rod exten-ding through all of the positioning holes of saidcams and said hubs to hold said cams in predetermined positions toestablish a predetermined contour off said cam roll, means for rotatingsaid reed cam roll about an axis parallel to said positioning rod, saidcam roll being positioned to contact portions of said reeds spaced fromsaid shaft, said reeds having inserts of a. material harder than thematerial of which the reeds are made at those portions contacted by saidcam roll, a cantilever spring for each of said reeds, means supported bysaid frame for holding end portions of said springs and for urging theother ends of said springs against said reeds, whereby said reeds areurged against said reed cam roll, a supply of Warp threads, a take-upspool, a pair of rollers engaging fabric Woven on the loom, said rollersbeing in front of said take-up spool, a plurality of heddles, ends ofwhich engage said warp threads, means supported by said frame 'forguiding said heddles through movements laterally of said Warp threads,said heddles having pivotal means at ends opposite said warp-engagingends, a plurality of lever arms for said heddles, said lever arms beingpivotally connected at common end portions to said pivotal means, alever arm shaft supported by said frame, said lever arms being pivotallymounted on said lever arm shaft at portions spaced from said pivotalmeans, a heddle cam roll comprising a plurality of individual heddlecams rotatably mounted on said frame at a point spaced from said leverarm shaft, said heddle cam roll being positioned to contact portions ofsaid lever arms spaced from said shaft, means for rotating said heddlecam roll about an axis parallel to said lever arm shaft, each of saidlever arms having a projection extending from a portion thereof spacedfrom said lever arm shaft and from said heddles, a spring wire for eachof said lever arms, each of said spring Wires being supported at bothends by said frame with at least one of the ends being free to movelongitudinally, each of said spring wires contacting the projection ofitsv corresponding lever arm and urging the lever arm toward thecorresponding heddle cam of said heddle cam roll, a plurality ofshuttles adapted to ride on said Warp threads, each of said shuttleshaving a surface lying at an angle to a path in which said reeds aremoved and to said Warp threads, said surface having a generally slanted,elongated S-shaped contour, a bobbin in each of said shuttles, springclip means releasably and rotatably holding said bobbins in saidshuttles, said shuttles having slots generally parallel to a plane inwhich a portion olf said Warp threads lie, lill threads from saidbobbins extending through said slots, said shuttles being moved acrosssaid warp threads by said reeds when the surfaces of said shuttles areengaged by said reeds, said warp threads being mowed to positions spacedon each side of the paths of said shuttles by -said heddles, and meansassociated with the two rotating means for coordinating movement of saidreed cam roll and said heddle cam roll.

2. In mechanism for a loom of the progressive shedding type, a frame, ashaft mounted horizontally on said frame, a plurality of reeds pivotallymounted on said shaft, a reed cam roll rotatably supported on said framein a position spaced from said shaft, said reed cam roll comprising aplurality of individual cams having a common, predetermined contour,means lassociated with said roll for positioning said cams to establisha predetermined contour of said cam roll, means for rotating said reedcam roll, said cam roll being positioned to contact portions of saidreeds spaced from said shaft, a cantilever spring for each of saidreeds, means supported by said frame for holding end portions of saidsprings and for urging the other ends of said springs against saidreeds, whereby said reeds are urged against said reed cam roll, aplurality of heddles, a plurality of lever arms for said heddles, saidlever arms being pivotally conneeted at common end portions thereoftosaid heddles, a lever arm shaft supported by said frame, said leverarms being pivotally mounted on said lever arm shaft at portions spacedfrom said heddles, a heddle cam roll comprising a plurality ofindividual heddle cams rotatably mounted on said frame at a point spacedfrom said lever arm shaft, means for rotating said heddle cam roll forrotation about an axis parallel to said lever arm shaft, each of saidlever arms having a projection extending there-from at a portion thereofspaced `from said lever arm shaft and said heddles, a spring Wire foreach of said lever arms, said spring wires being supported by saidframe, each of said spring Wires contacting the projection of itscorresponding lever arm and urging the lever arm toward thecorresponding heddle cam of said heddle cam roll, a plurality ofshuttles, each of said shuttles having a surface lying laterally to apath in which said reeds are moved, a bobbin in each of said shuttles,means releasably and rotatably holding said bobbins in said shuttles,said shuttles being moved across said Warp threads by said reeds whenthe surfaces of said shuttles are engaged by said reeds, said Warp:threads being moved to positions spaced on each side of the paths ofsaid shuttles by said heddles, and means associated with the tworotating means for coordinating movement of said reed cam roll and saidheddle cam roll.

3. In mechanism for a loom of the progressive shedding type, a frame, ashaft mounted horizontally on said frame, said shaft having a flattenedportion on its periphery extending longitudinally over la Substantialportion of its length, a plurality of reeds, said reeds having holes forpivotally mounting said reed-s on said shaft and slots extending fromsaid openings to outer edges thereof, the Width of said slots beinggreater than the minimum Width of said shaft at said flattened portion,whereby said reeds can be removed laterally from said shaft Withoutremoval of the other reeds, a reed cam roll rotatably supported on saidframe in a position spaced from said shaft, said cam roll beingpositioned to contact portions of said reeds spaced from said shaft.

4. In mechanism for a loom of the progressive shedding type, a frame, ashaft mounted horizontally on said frame, a plurality of reeds pivotallymounted on said shaft, a reed cam roll rotatably supported on said framein a position spaced from said shaft, said reed cam roll comprising aplurality of individual cams having a common, predetermined contour,each of said cams having a centrally located hole, an assembly shaftextending through said holes and beyond each end of said roll, a hubmounted on each end of said assembly shaft, each hub having apositioning hole spaced from said assembly shaft, said assembly shafthaving means on each end for positioning said hubs on said assemblyshaft with their positioning holes in alignment, each of said earns alsohaving a positioning hole spaced from said assembly shaft a distanceequal to the spacing of the positioning holes of said hubs from saidassembly shaft, the postioning holes of adjacent calms beingcircumferentially positioned one from another at a predetermined angleso that each of said cams is out of alignment by the same angle Withrespect to adjacent earns when their positioning Iholes are aligned, apositioning rod extending through all of the positioning holes of saidcams and said hubs to hold said cams in predetermined positions toestablish a predetermined contour of said cam roll, said positioning rodbeing substantially the same size as said positioning holes, and meansfor rotating said reed cam roll, said cam roll being positioned tocontact portions of said reeds spaced from said shaft.

5. `ln mechanism for a loom of the progressive shedding type, a frame, aplurality of heddles, means supported by `said frame for `guiding saidheddles through reciprocatory movements, said heddles having pivotalmeans at common ends thereof, a plurality of lever arms for saidheddles, said lever arms being pivotally connected at common endportions thereof to said pivotal means, a Ilever arm shaft supported bysaid frame, said lever arms being pivotally mounted on ysaid lever armshaft at portions spaced from said pivotal means, a heddle cam rollcomprising a plurality of individual heddle cams rotatably mounted onsaid frame at a point spaced from said lever arm shaft, said heddle camroll being positioned to contact portions of said lever arms spaced fromsaid shaft, means for rotating said heddle cam roll for rotation aboutan axis pmallel to said lever `arm shaft, each of said lever arms havinga projection extending from a portion thereof spaced `from said leverarm shaft and from said heddles, and a spring Wire for each of saidlever arms, each of said spring wires being supported at both ends bysaid frame with at least one of the ends being free to move1ongitudinally, each of said spring Wires contacting the projection ofits corresponding lever arm and urging the lever arm toward thecorresponding heddle cam of said heddle cam roll.

6 ln mechanism for a loom of the progressive shedding type, a frame, aplurality of heddles, means supported by said frame for guiding saidheddles through reciprocatory movements, said heddles having pivotalmeans at common ends thereof, a plurality of lever arms for saidheddles, said lever arms being pivotally connected at common endportions thereof to said pivotal means, a lever arm shaft supported by`said frame, said lever arms being pivotally mounted on said lever armshaft at portions spaced from said pivotal means, a heddle cam rollcornprisin-g a plurality of individual heddle cams rotatably mounted onsaid frame at a point spaced from said lever arm shaft, said heddle camroll being positioned to contact portions of said lever arms spaced fromsaid shaft, means for rotating said heddle cam roll for rotation aboutan axis parallel to said lever arm shaft, each of said lever arms havinga projection extending therefrom `at a portion thereof spaced from saidlever arm, shaft and from said heddles, and a spring wire for each ofsaid lever arms, each of said spring Wires being supported by said frameparallel to said heddles and to each other, each of said spring wirescontacting the projection of its corresponding lever arm and urging thelever arm toward the corresponding heddle cam of said heddle cam roll.

7. ln mechanism for a loom of the progressive shedding type, a frame, asupply of warp threads, means for moving said warp threads across saidframe, a plurality of shuttles adapted to ride on the Warp threads, eachof said shuttles having a surface lying angularly to said Warp threads,said surface having a generally slanted, elongated S-shapcd contour, abobbin carrying a ll thread in each of said shuttles, spring clip meansreleasably and rotatably holding said bobbins in said shuttles, and saidshuttles having slots generally parallel to a plane in which a portionof said warp threads lie, fill threads from said bobbins extendingthrough said slots.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 208,675Derby Oct. 8, 1878 638,523 Schaum Dec. 5, 1899 763,250 Boyer et al. June21, 1904 1955,2111 Salisbury Apr. 19, 1910 2,144,947 Valentine Jan. 24,1939 2,313,300 Pelce Mar. 9, 1943 2,412,355 Parker Dec. 10, 19462,463,028 First et al Mar, 1, 1949 2,470,981 Hardick May 24, 19492,558,284 Whitaker June 26, 1951 2,624,519 Griefen Jan. 6, 19532,725,080 Catry et al Nov. 29, 1955 2,795,030 Stutz June 11, 19572,799,295 Juillard et al July 16, 1957 2,833,315 Dunham May 6, 19582,834,090 VoWles May 13, 1958 2,845,093 Dietzsch et al July 29, 19582,865,407 Billing et al Dec. 23, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,023,730 GermanyFeb. 26, 1953

7. IN MECHANISM FOR A LOOM OF THE PROGRESSIVE SHEDDING TYPE, A FRAME, ASUPPLY OF WARP THREADS, MEANS FOR MOVING SAID WARP THREADS ACROSS SAIDFRAME, A PLURALITY OF SHUTTLES ADAPTED TO RIDE ON THE WARP THREADS, EACHOF SAID SHUTTLES HAVING A SURFACE LYING ANGULARLY TO SAID WARP THREADS,SAID SURFACE HAVING A GENERALLY SLANTED, ELONGATED S-SHAPED CONTOUR, ABOBBIN CARRYING A FILL THREAD IN EACH OF SAID SHUTTLES, SPRING CLIPMEANS RELEASABLY AND ROTATABLY HOLDING SAID BOBBINS IN SAID SHUTTLES,AND SAID SHUTTLES HAVING SLOTS GENERALLY PARALLEL TO A PLANE IN WHICH APORTION OF SAID WARP THREADS LIE, FILL THREADS FROM SAID BOBBINSEXTENDING THROUGH SAID SLOTS.